Yo ho, yo ho

Collin's obsession with pirates has not waned. He loves to build pirate ships with his blocks and he's the captain of any play structure. He now has two swords (but sticks also work) which he uses to fight crocodiles, Captain Hook and any other bad guys that get in his way.

So of course we had to take our little matey to the Pirate Festival in St. Helens. The Pirate Festival was complete with grown-ups and families in full pirate regalia. We're talking costumes that looked like they came off a movie set. It was a 90 degree day so the men and women in long sleeves, heavy pants and jackets get props for dedication. Or geekdome...

There were cannons blasting off, games for kids, live music and bounce houses that Collin was immediately drawn to. We found a skull cap with for Collin as well as some more action figures and toys and a Jolly Roger flag to hang up on the new balcony off of Collin's room. He also got to take a picture with "Zombie Pirate." Some kids might be scared by the creepy skeletal face, but not our Collin. He loves creepy crawlies, monsters and all that is morbid.

He sat still for a skull and crossbones to be painted on his face, one that he did not want to wash off for a day. We were ready to go after a few hours of pounding heat and Collin was one worn kiddo who fell asleep promptly in the car. The only thing that would've made the Pirate Festival even better was combining it with the pirate ships we saw earlier this summer. But as Collin still talks about it, I think it was definitely a memorable experience.

Of course stay tuned for Halloween. I think it's pretty obvious what Collin will be dressing up as.

Future cheap labor

Collin loves to peer out his window and watch Mike work hard building a balcony. The plastic tool set is ready in case Mike needs any help. What makes a handy man complete?

Butt crack of course.

Ugh I'm so behind

June, July where did you go? I can't believe it's nearing August already. Never mind the hundreds of photos waiting to be uploaded from our vacation and just everyday life. I'll get to them soon, promise.

I'm still waiting for summer to start--well it starts then goes back to blah, then teases us again. Meanwhile the rest of the country is suffering in a heat wave so I suppose I shouldn't complain. Mike is busy trying to finish up the house and I'm busy with work and a certain mischief maker.

Collin at three is busy, busy. He talks like a real person now which is pretty cool. Of course conversations don't always make sense. Time isn't really linear when you're three so a conversation about school can turn into, "I played with Spencer. We went on the airplane. I saw Nona and Papa."

His long lush curls are gone sadly because I tried to trim his hair. And trimmed a little more. And a little more. And pretty soon he looked ridiculous so I took him in to the salon and voila instant summer look. I miss the curls but it does mature him and it's easier to manage.

As for the mischief part...The other day I was upstairs getting ready and Mike had just left for work. The door was dead-bolted and chained yet pretty soon I noticed the house was quiet. And then I had that burning feeling in my stomach and sure enough the door was wide open. I ran down the street where Collin was strolling with a football under his arm about to reach a busy street, nearly a block away.

After that heart attack Mike bought a lock ready to install high above the door, hopefully too high for Houdini to reach. I must say, I'm happy we have an independent and smart kiddo, but the fact that caution is not in his mindset at all scares the crap out of me. I don't even want to think about Collin at sixteen.

The mischief doesn't end there of course. Here's what happened when Collin got a hold of some toilet paper. Yes he doesn't have pants on.

Some mid-august thoughts

I can't believe it's already halfway through August.

It feels like a faster paced summer, more exhausting. I attribute this to several factors:

1. Summer was literally shorter than other years with our June/early July "winter."

2. Collin's energy level. Half the time it's like living with someone whose manic depressive and off their meds. Ups and downs, screams and cuteness. And he's the Energizer Bunny at the same time.

3. Both Mike and I have been working a lot, the house is a never-ending project, and we've done a fair amount of traveling.

We haven't gotten in touch with nature as much as I would've liked but I have to remind myself Collin is at an age where he's just as happy throwing bark chips at the park than he would be at a picturesque mountain that's a two hour car ride and involves lots of planning. And as mentioned previously Collin does not do the best on hikes. I am looking forward to the days we can do more exploring but two year olds are just exhausting little people. For now, we've had lots of fun going to local playgrounds, swimming and visits to the zoo, the Children's Museum and OMSI. He's also at an age where he actually plays with his friends instead of just co-existing. But sharing is a hard concept...

Collin's also officially moved up to preschool! His teachers felt he was ready to transition even though he's not quite two and a half. We were told Collin is bright (pat on the back for good genes) and very much a visual learner. He knows his numbers, letters and shapes and is extremely focused. Apparently Collin asks to be excused, cleans up his messes and is an all around angel. Now if we could just get him to bring the same level of politeness to home that would be awesome. His teacher Jen also told us two and a half year olds usually enter the "Pesky Pete" phase where dumping toys and other items out is fun and boundaries are constantly meant to be tested (and it gets worse as vocabulary progresses).

Now that he's in a slightly more structured environment, we are also trying to pay closer attention to his unilateral hearing loss. Circle time, talking with his friends, taking direction from teachers, all of those involve more careful listening and with a busy environment with lots of noise and conversation, sometimes kids with auditory neuropothy get frustrated and shut down. Still it's pretty hard to tell Collin has any kind of hearing issue. His audiologist and early intervention specialist both say he's doing great. The only times we've noticed something is off is when he seems unsure of where sound is coming from and he covers up his left ear when we put headphones on him. Chances are when he doesn't respond to us, it's not because he doesn't hear us, he's just being a preschooler.

And now some pictures that demonstrate why we don't eat our young:

The Terribles...

I'd like to say that age two gets a bad rep, that there's so much fun and enlightenment that comes with this age bla, bla, bla.

But seriously, a lot of the time it sucks. I know we're still early in the twos so I'm hoping it gets easier. This is a typical morning:

Me: "Collin would you like some yogurt?"
Collin: "No!"
Me: "Okay, how about a granola bar?"
Collin: "Yogurt!"
(Happily gulps down yogurt thank God).
Collin: "Chocolate milk, chocolate milk?"
Me: "No chocolate milk, you can have milk or water."
Collin: "Chocolate milk, chocolate milk."
Me: "Here's some milk."
Collin: "No!" Throws himself to the ground and screams for a while, then picks up the milk and drinks it.
Collin: "O's?"
Me: "Here you go." Hands him cheerios.
Collin: Pours O's on the floor. "Fishies!"
Me: "Is it too early for wine?"




And this sort of scenario repeats itself with lunches and snacks. I realize he's a mini teenager, that he's just expressing his independence. Still it's hard not to lose it sometimes and even harder to remind myself it's a phase. He used to eat anything and happily sit with us at dinner time but now I don't even know why I bother making him anything, it usually ends up on the floor. Snacks are consumed all day long so I know he's not starving.

The tantrums aren't just centered around food though, they take place around TV time (Elmo = crack), getting ready for school in the morning, getting into the car, out of the car, etc.

He's an angel at school, with the grandparents and babysitters, which I know is a good thing. Still it'd be nice if he uh pretended we were not his parents or something once in a while.

Then there is that whole reason we don't eat our young...he's so damn charming and cute. He asks me for "o-fly and skimo kisses" every night. He helps dad build with his tools. He puts his arms around my neck in a big hug. He loves to count (up to 11), he imitates animal sounds, he loves firetrucks and is obsessed with pointing out shapes.





So I'll try to throw my rationale out the window and stop trying to analyze why he's having tantrums. As my mom says, two year olds are basically just big balls of emotion.

And hope to God people who say age three is harder than two are wrong.

Happy Bithday Collin!

Collin is two! And yes he can proudly hold up two fingers and proclaim this.

What does this age mean so far?

It's part sweet, part aggravation. The best are the questions asking me for a kiss or hug, the coherent sentences, the huge smiles and the independence, well this is both good and bad--he refuses to sit in his booster seat lately and longs after the big kids on the playground trying to jump high on the monkey-bars or go for the tallest slide. He uses a fork and spoon like a pro (most of the time). He can take his coat and shoes off, throws his dishes in the sink and sleeps in a big boy bed.

The hard parts are the flailing screaming tantrums because he's frustrated or God forbid you gave him the wrong snack. Or you put a cap on his Elmo watching. Or maybe he's just tired. Or teething. Or it just feels good to scream. Who knows. He's still torturing Hurley our poor cat and then looks shocked when Hurley finally scratches him.

Food wise he's hit or miss. For whatever reason he usually passes on pizza and toast with peanut butter or cheese which he used to love (although quesadillas are all good), pasta is a hit, as are beans, yogurt, anything fruit (especially "bluebons") and turkey. And now he eats cereal with milk--the kind I like, (the healthy Kashi stuff with soy milk), somehow that just makes me smile. This is combined with asking for "bacon" and loving spam, sausages and barbecue (obviously his father's son). He has been forgoing the veggies lately which he used to enjoy down so who knows. Bottom line we're not worried about Collin starving. Oh and Annie's fruit bunnies might as well be crack. Once I introduced those, he eagerly points to the cabinet several times a day with giddy chants of "buddies, buddies?"

Blue remains his best friend and our portable DVD player is a lifesaver (as are the Elmo movies he watches). Those 25 minutes can save my sanity and allow me to whip up dinner or grab the laundry. Rotting brain be damned.

Collin may be our future engineer. He likes to examine things and figure out how they work (he gets under the ride-on cars like a mechanic), he knows how to open doors, outsmarted the baby gate latch and is starting to figure out zippers.

He also loves "dodos" (the photo album) and points to "Papa, Nona, Mama, Dada, Uncle and baby" I don't think he's quite made the connection the baby = Collin. Toy wise his favorites are his choo choos, balls, his tool set (just like dad) and toy cars. He also loves looking at books and will occasionally have fun with blocks. Dancing is also a hit especially if it involves mom or dad lifting him in the air and spinning him around. He's definitely an energy ball and late this month will hopefully channel that into peewee soccer!

At Purple Moon he plays with his friends, does lots of cool art projects and for the most part is pretty sweet. He'll be moving out of the toddler classroom and into preschool in the fall!

For his birthday he brought cookies to school and I surprised him when I picked him up with a balloon bouquet, singing Elmo balloon included. Collin couldn't figure out where the singing came from but had a huge grin on his face. We went for dinner and beers at Hopworks Brewery (okay he had milk). Despite not eating until nearly 8pm, he was a trooper and happily played, ran around and enjoyed some spaghetti, French fries and a special birthday ice cream sundae! Not a healthy food day to say the least but birthdays are all about hedonism even when you're two, right?!


All in all he's a fun, dramatic, independent, stubborn and happy tot. A year ago he was barely walking and now he's blasting through the world.

Slow down Collin, I can't chase you forever.

At birth:


On his first birthday:



And today:

Neat and (dis)orderly

I am a neat person. I don't like knick knacks overwhelming shelves or shoes strewn across the floor. I tend not to accumulate things and don't have much of a problem letting go of items from the past (please see my husband for the opposite description).

However my vision for minimalism and the "feng shui" effect is pretty much a pipe dream at this point. I've realized that no matter how many times I try to arrange Collin's pretty wood stackers in order there will always be a piece missing. Books find their ways under the couch and cracker crumbs are inevitable. In my ideal home we'd have a spacious play room with child sized furniture, shelves with organized bins like you see in the Pottery Barn catalog and a whimsical mural on the wall.

For now I have to let go of my neuroses and let Collin run with his imagination (both figuratively and physically all over most of our house!) I can't imagine a living room with those creepy plastic covers on the couches and immaculate shelves that are never touched. Someday I hope Collin can have a play room and I can get the living room back but for now I'll enjoy the look of bliss on his face as he hoards our shoes, a broom (he likes to sweep so that's a good sign), scarves and of course Blue Dog into a pop up tent I debated putting away.

I'll take a bit of mess and disorder for the discovery of a fort by a toddler any day.